


Out of Uniform

by Penthesilea1623



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Uniforms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:31:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penthesilea1623/pseuds/Penthesilea1623
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>from a prompt on tumblr I did for randombetrayals for 'finding the other wearing their clothing' for my human rogue inquisitor Ardith Trevelyan and Cullen.  I head canon that they're very close in height, and this happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Uniform

Ardith struggled to fasten the closures on the dress uniform, wondering once again just who had been responsible for the design. She’d have said Leliana, but the somewhat clunky brown leather boots that were part of it would seem to preclude that. The rich colors and fabrics seemed to imply Josephine but the very masculine cut of it didn’t seem the ambassador’s style. It was a ridiculous piece of clothing, and, as she had discovered this evening, impossible to get into unaided if one were in a hurry. Inside hooks. Outside buckles. How had she and Cullen thought they would be able to get back into them quickly enough?

The answer to that was simple: they hadn’t been thinking. She’d stopped by the War Room on her way down to the banquet hall wanting to look at that last dispatch from Orlais before having to deal with Celene’s emissary at tonight’s banquet and had found Cullen there frowning at the map, at the Western Approach to be specific. There had been more darkspawn sightings, he began to explain, but she’d stopped him with a gentle finger on his lips and then pressed a kiss to the furrow between his brows. 

“It can wait until morning.” She told him. “Right now we need to focus on the Orlesians.” 

Cullen had caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingertips. “I’d almost rather dine with the darkspawn.” He told her wryly. 

She’d laughed, making him smile in return and seeing the smile she couldn’t help kissing him again, on the mouth this time and what she’d intended to be a gentle kiss grew into something else and when they broke the kiss they were both breathing a little harder.

“We should go into the Main Hall.” Cullen had said, not taking his eyes from her.

“Yes.” She'd agreed. “I should be there when the ambassador comes down.”

“Yes.” He'd repeated.

Neither of them had moved for a moment, and then they both did and the next thing she knew they'd been yanking of each other’s clothes and having sex, completely naked sex, right there on the war table. 

It had been fantastic. 

Cullen had been the first one to come to his senses when they had finished, and they’d both scrambled off the table and struggled into their clothes. Cullen had been quicker, and was expertly tying the elaborate blue sash around him as she was still trying to find her breastband (dangling from one of the standards behind the table it turned out).

“How do you do that so quickly?” She’d complained as she managed to tangle the ties to her trousers and had to unlace them and start over.

“Years of Templar parades in Kirkwall. Meredith was very big on displays of power.” He’d kissed her softly. “That was amazing. Reckless and irresponsible beyond words, but amazing.” He’d told her. “I’ll cover for you, but you should hurry.” One more quick kiss and he left the room.

Ardith finally got the jacket fastened, but she didn’t think she’d done it correctly. It seemed to be gapping strangely, and felt looser than it should. It couldn’t be helped she thought. She didn’t have the time now to fix it. She still had to get the sash on, Maker help her.

She’d just picked it up and was eyeing it balefully when the door opened and Josephine stepped in.

“Inquisitor. Our Commander said that you might welcome some aid tying your sash. ” Her face was carefully pleasant but Ardith noticed her eyes immediately went to the war table and the tokens and figures now scattered across it.

Ardith tried and failed not to blush, suspecting that as innocuous as Cullen would have tried to make it sound Josie knew or at least suspected exactly what she and “the Commander” had been doing in here. At this point she didn’t care, though. She held out the sash to her ambassador. “Yes, please. It would take me forever.”

“And we are already tardy.” Josephine said, expertly winding the sash around her. She frowned as she did so. “Have you lost some weight, Inquisitor?”

“I don’t think so.” Ardith said reaching for the belt that went on top. That at least she could fasten by herself. She was fairly certain she could, anyway. “I think I fastened the inside wrong.” Her hands hesitated holding the end of the belt. Did it wrap around once or twice?

Josephine brushed her hands away and finished the job before stepping back. “I don’t think it’s just that. I’ll make sure the tailor makes some alterations before the next affair. We can’t have our Inquisitor looking less than her best. A shame we didn’t realize this before the banquet with the Orlesians, but still, it can’t be helped now.” She quickly ushered Ardith out and into the Main Hall to wait for the Orlesian delegations.

Ardith took her place beside her Commander, who was running his finger between the collar of his uniform and his neck. “I think this uniform needs letting out.” He told her under his breath. “That or I need to be sparring with the men more frequently.”

Ardith smiled. She knew for a fact that Cullen was in perfect shape. “I think it’s just our tailor. My jacket’s too loose. “

She heard Josephine, who was on her other side, give a small dismayed gasp and looked at her in surprise. It was almost unheard of for Josie to lose her composure while performing her duties. “Ambassador Montilyet? Is everything all right?” She asked. 

Josephine muttered something in Antivan under her breath before moving closer to them both with a resigned expression on her face. “Your uniform is too loose.” She said quietly to Ardith, before turning to Cullen. “And yours too tight?” She asked carefully.

Ardith’s eyes went round with horror as she realized what Josephine was pointing out. 

It took Cullen a few seconds more and then he flushed a dull brick red. “Oh, for pity’s sake.” He muttered.

They both turned panicked, pleading eyes to Josephine. 

“Go!” She told them. “I’ll cover for you both. Take care of this, and hurry back as fast as you can.” They both started to bolt. “Walk!” She hissed at them. “Do you want everyone to know something is wrong?” 

She watched as they walked with exaggerated care to the nearest door, before ducking out of the hall, and shook her head as she turned back to the room full of dignitaries with a composed smile on her face. The spontaneity of new found passion. She should have realized it might be an issue now that the Inquisitor and the Commander were involved. She would have to remember it in the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Screenshots, photo references and inspirations for Ardith, my other inquisitors and all things Dragon Age Inquisition can be found on my tumblr:
> 
>  
> 
> [Dragon Age Inquisition photo/style references](http://penthesilea1623.tumblr.com/search/Dragon+Age+Inquisition)


End file.
